7.31.2008

Boise State has landed their 10th verbal commitment of the 2009 class...and on the last day of July. Justin Jungblut, a Defensive End from Saguaro High (Scottsdale, AZ) has notified Bronco coaches with his decision to accept their scholarship offer. Jungblut is currently 6'6" and weighs 250 lbs. Besides holding an offer from Idaho, Jungblut had scholarships extended from a smattering of Mountain West teams—Air Force, Utah, Wyoming and UNLV. As a junior, Jungblut had 38 tackles and 1 sack. He is graded out as a 70 by ESPN's recruiting website. Here is more of their eval:

Jungblut registers as having one of the more interesting names in the 2009 class. He is also somewhat of an interesting prospect. He is a good sized kid, who should be able to get into a college weight program and add some good bulk. He is a defensive end, but it may serve him best to try and bulk up and slide inside to tackle. He has a good get-off and it is one of the strengths of his game. When he keeps his pads down and shoots his hands he can take on a block and hold his ground. Will flash the ability to get skinny and split a double team. He needs to watch his pad level and more consistently keep his pads down. He does an adequate job of coming across the ball and staying square. He has a good motor and is a solid tackler. Possesses very adequate speed and short-area change-of-direction skills. As a pass rusher he will lead with his hands and does a solid job of being able to shed. He needs to keep working on developing pass rush moves to help him more quickly defeat a blocker. He will flash the ability with his get-off to be able throw a quick swim to beat a blocker. Jungblut is a solid defender. We believe he may be better suited if he can add the size to be a defensive tackle at least in the long haul anyway.

If Jungblut's verbal holds, he will join another Arizona '09 commit, Ebo Makinde. To be honest, though, I'm more concerned about Makinde hanging in.

An ESPN feature recently ranked the most hated teams in each conference. The WAC's most hated team turned out to be Fresno State, while the least hated team was Utah State. The Aggies, according to the "Hate Meter" just haven't made any real enemies in their three pitiful years in the league...they also have never finished above seventh place. Well, I say more teams should hate the Aggies. They consistently bring down opponent's SOS, their games are yawn-inducing, and they were at one time coached by Johnelle John L. Smith. But what do they bring to the table this season? Let's see.You call that coaching?Brent Guy, seems like a nice enough bloke—he's a self-described "family man" and he at one point was the defensive coordinator at Boise State. Only problem is: he stinks as a head coach. Guy is 6 and 29 in his tenure at Utah State...and his most successful season was a 3-8 romp in 2005. Since that magical season, the Guy-led Aggies have been outscored 868 to 377. Impressive, no? No. This season may just be "do or die" for coach Guy, another 10 or 11 loss outing, and Utah State's dwindling fanbase will be calling for his head on a charger.

No offense, but you have no offense.Remember when I told you that Utah State has been outscored 868 to 377 in the last two seasons? Turns out...that's not good. The Aggies were shutout 4 times in 2006 and once last season (but hey, they scored 3 against Oklahoma). While the Aggies did manage to improve their point-output by 117 from 2006 to 2007...they still have one of the weakest offenses in the nation. The Aggies run game produced only 1499 yards last year as a team—that's just a shade over how many yards last year's WAC rushing champ, Luke Lippincott had all by himself, and about 1000 yards behind the Broncos team rushing totals from '07. The Aggie passing attack was anemic last year as well, producing only 11 TDs through the air against 9 INTs. To make matters worse, the Aggies two top receivers from 2007, Kevin Robinson and Rob Meyers, have graduated. Obviously, if the Aggies don't get some skill position help, and fast, 2008 will be another stinker.

Defending your lifeThe Aggie defense needs to improve in a hurry. Utah State allowed 3 teams last year to score over 50 points on them and allowed an average score of 33.8. Boise State, which had what many consider to be a down year defensively in 2007, only allowed 20 points per game. The Aggies will return much of their defense this season—not sure if that is a good thing or not.

Special returner won't returnUtah State may be hurting this year in another key area: special teams. Kevin Robinson, who was a major homerun threat as a kick and punt returner last season is gone: drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs. His replacement is unknown, but it is hard to imagine that they will enjoy the level of productivity that the versatile Robinson enjoyed.Bottom Line:The Aggies will have another snore of a season. They probably don't have a shot at winning a game until the Vandals visit Logan on September 20th...but by that time, their probable 0-3 start will have their confidence shaken and a win over the Vandals is as good as a coin flip. I can legitimately see the Aggies going 0-12 this season, and I predict they will. The November 8th visit to the blue turf will be the last time that Brent Guy ever is in close proximity to a winning program.

7.30.2008

Departures happen in college football. Every year players are lost in the offseason to grades, injury or otherwise—unfortunately, Boise State is not immune to this phenomena. We'll find out on Monday whether or not Jeremy Childs will make it back to the Broncos squad, but in the meantime the following players will NOT be joining the team this fall.

Dominique Vinson, redshirt WR—unspecified

Paul Luciarello, Center—Injury

Philip Edwards, DT—unspecified

Jack Sula, RB/LB—"family reasons"

Van Drumgoole, WR—going to a JC

Kapono Rawlins-Crivello, DL—unspecified

I was very excited to see Vinson and Sula out there. Shame. Let's hope this "bleeding" stops sooner than later.

JT Ray from Bronconation N.O.W., "Buck" Rogers from Statueleft and yours truly kicked off the 2008 season with an epic roundtable discussion about everything from Bob Behler to the ticket crisis. We were missing Kevan from OBNUG and aren't quite in mid-season form yet...but you may enjoy hearing our extremely biased opinions. Enjoy.

7.25.2008

WAC media days are over (great wrap-up by OBNUG here) and fall camp is tantalizingly close...so what better way to kill some more time than by putting together an arbitrary list comparing WAC teams to their film counterparts.

Movie content, plot and general awesomeness/crappiness were NOT considered...just throwing up puns here.

7.24.2008

Well, Ryan Dinwiddie made his coach look like a genius...again. On Thursday night in Winnipeg, RD gave a positively Dinwiddie-like performance—and Boise State fans who have longed to see Ryan light up defenses one more time had their chance (if they get channel 39 on their antenna). Dinwiddie, as I blogged earlier this week, was given the reins of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers after their incumbent got them off to an 0-4 start. Dinwiddie not only tossed for 450 yards and a score...he tossed the game winning touchdown with only seconds left on the clock. I gotta tell ya, to see Dinwiddie's pure elation after he tossed that game clincher almost brought a tear to my eye—the guy's been through a lot and it's about time he was given the opportunity to shine once again. Boise State, by the way, got a lot of free pub during the game as Dinwiddie's college roots were mentioned time and again, as well as his teammate's, Cam Hall.

Dinwiddie looked so poised, confident and accurate—I could've sworn I'd stepped back into the year 2003. Now if I could just figure out why they only got three downs (or "doons" as the announcer kept referring to them), why the teams got a point for missing a field goal and why the uprights were at the very front of a 20-yards-deep endzone all would be right with the world.

Alex Guerrero, everyone's (mine) favorite DT is heading back to Boise via the great white north. Guerrero, who has been quite the journeyman in his two seasons away from the blue, has had stops in Seattle, Kansas City, Minnesota, NFL Europa and, most recently, with the Hamilton Tiger Cats of the CFL. The Boise Burn have brought Guerrero on to help with potential playoff push. The Burn's regular season finale is this Saturday against the Spokane Shock. The Burn have never beaten the Shock, but if they win...they're in, so to speak. I think I speak for all Boiseans when I throw Alex a hearty "Welcome Back"...and maybe if your globetrotting days are over, hang around for a bit, huh?

Click HERE to backtrack and read FFBSU's exclusive Alex Guerrero interview from a little while back.

Wonder what was the driving force behind Nevada's inexplicable barrage at Bronco Stadium last year? Do you wonder why Luke Lippincott sliced through our defense in OT like he was sleepwalking...well, he might have been. It seems that Luke Lippincott is hypnotized before football games by his father, Dr. Demento Brian Lippincott. "Three or four" of his Wolf_space_pack teammates are "put under" as well by the good Dr. Lippincott, a psychologist at John F. Kennedy University(their motto: Ich bin ein undergrad). Luke explains:

"It's not follow the magic thing," Lippincott said. "Hypnotism, I like to think of it as just like getting your body in a totally relaxed state and thinking of a game-time situation to the point where you're in the game-time situation in a real-life game and you're calm."

Like, wow man.

And nothing unseemly about this:

Brian Lippincott travels to every game — home and away — and hypnotizes players in their hotel rooms.

No, Chris Hansen does not come out of a back room with cameras rolling.

Dr. Quack Lippincott also "helped out" prior to the New Mexico Bowl

Lippincott said his father hypnotized Nevada safety Uche Anyanwu prior to the New Mexico Bowl and asked the junior to envision stripping the ball from a running back. In the second quarter, Anyanwu did just that.

...he also hypnotized the entire Nevada offense and told them to envision scoring no points.

Now that we know about Nevada's ace in the hole, Chris Petersen has invited David Blaine to visit Boise State players before games to do some coin tricks.

7.23.2008

Boise State was voted first AND second in preseason WAC voting today. The coaches saw fit to dangle the "beat Fresno State" carrot in front of their clubs for the year—while the conventionally wise media looked at history and put the target on Boise State's back. So, is being voted the preseason #1 a good or bad thing? Anyone know how many times Boise State was picked to win the WAC during their string of five straight titles? It certainly wasn't five...and I'd be willing to bet that Fresno got much of that love. Ian Johnson was tabbed as the preseason Offensive player of the year, making my prediction ring gloriously true. Defensive player of the year was erroneously given to Hawaii LB Solomon Elimimian—Ryan Winterswyk is now sufficiently motivated.

7.22.2008

As WAC media days commence in Salt Lake City—Fight, Fight BSU is reminded that the season is just around the corner. The Beijing Olympics should be a nice diversion from the hand-wringing that Fall Camp usually initiates...then POW, it's August 30th and the ISU Bengals are running headlong into a Blue and Orange buzzsaw. Anyway, we'll know whom the preseason WAC faves are in the next few days...but I'd like to bring my own list to the table. How do the WAC coaches stack up? From the bottom...

9. Brent Guy, Utah State—Brent Guy used to be on staff as a Bronco assistant, and I'm sure he misses those salad days. Guy's Aggie teams have been laughably bad since he's taken the reins culminating in last season's 52-0 loss in Logan to the Broncos. Brent's a good guy, but that team is going nowhere fast. He's 6-29 as head man and looks destined to pillow fight it with Idaho for WAC doormat status.

8. Robb Akey, Idaho—Ok, so Akey's Vandals lost to Brent Guy's Aggies last season (Akey's first) AND Akey sports a cringe-worthy mustache and spouts stupid one-liners like he's auditioning for a James Bond role...but we gotta hand it to the guy...he has enthusiasm. Akey's golly-gee media demeanor and sideline fervor are the ONLY thing putting him ahead of Guy right now. Akey's first year at the helm produced 1 measly win...1-AA team...and barely. We think they'll win more games this year...maybe 2. Our only advice: Leave the "donkey" comments at the Corner Club, Akey!

7. Hal Mumme, New Mexico State—It was hard for me not to put Mumme at the bottom out of spite. I can't stand the guy or his shtick. Mumme was even famously dissed by Boise State safety Marty Tadman after last year's beatdown on the blue (Mumme called down the wrath of the Broncos after disrespecting them in '06). Mumme is 8-29 as the head man in Las Cruces and with Chase Holbrook and a smattering of decent offensive players may win 3 WAC games this year...but no more. Mumme, since going to NMSU has showed less of his coaching chops and much more of his post-nasal drip. I think Mumme is a drip...don't forget to bring a towel!

6. Chris Ault, Nevada—This will be considered sacrilege to the Wolf_space_pack fans that think Ault hung the moon. I'll ignore their shouts of "he's in the college football hall of fame" to explain why I think the Lil General is past his prime. Ault, in his most recent head coaching stint in Reno has gone a ho-hum 28-22...it could be worse...but given some of the games I've watched, it could be much better. Ault has been unable to knock off Boise State in his current role (though not for lack of trying last year) and more often than not has laid a stinky egg against the Broncos. Last year in Reno, the Wolf_space_Pack had a Colt Brennan-less Hawaii team right where the wanted them, until Ault intervened with his coaching and gave the game away. Ault is middle of the road, but I think he's peaked. Oh, and we're still miffed about this.5. Dick Tomey, San Jose State—Oh sure, Tomey has a worse record in his current SJSU gig than Ault's...but hear me out. Tomey helmed Hawaii and Arizona before landing in San Jose and while Tomey hasn't lit it up at 17-19. Tomey, however has taken San Jose State from Fitz Hill's 2004 2-9 campaign to a 2006 New Mexico Bowl berth and a 9-4 record (where they also beat rival Fresno State for the first time in quite a while). And while San Jose State has not beaten Boise State ever in WAC play...they've scared the bejeezus out of me more times than I would've imagined. Tomey is no miracle worker...they routinely have no offense...but he can get his boys up for some games and I believe that is why he is slightly ahead of Ault in the battle of the blue-hairs.

4. Greg McMackin, Hawaii—Maybe putting McMackin up this high in his inaugural season at Hawaii is a stretch, time will tell. McMackin has his work cut out for him this year as Hawaii basically put their entire 2007 offense on Oceanic flight 815—but with the emergence of Hawaii defense (McMackin was D-coordinator) over the last few seasons that made them much less of a pushover, I think that McMackin knows his stuff. That, or the 30 JC players or ex-cons that Hawaii has on its roster at any given time "got up" for the '07 campaign.

3. Derek Dooley, Louisiana Tech—Derek, the son of Georgia's legendary Vince Dooley is, in my estimation, a star on the rise. He went 5-7 in his first season last year putting scares into Sugar Bowl bound Hawaii and Boise State. The 2006 squad had only managed 3 wins. Dooley, is young...has a lot of enthusiasm and can inspire his athletes to play hard. I was genuinely a little scared last year when the Broncos went to Ruston and am equally pleased that his second year squad has to play on the blue. Dooley won't set the world on fire this year as Bicknell's recruits are still hanging around, but I think they may make a push at a bowl if luck is on their side. Dooley gets the "potential vote" to come in at #3.

2. Pat Hill, Fresno State—If getting guys up for big (read:BCS) games was the criteria for this list, Hill would win easily. Fresno State has put scares into numerous BCS teams and always manages to pull out a win or two a season against teams they "shouldn't". Hill has gone a respectable 85-55 in his tenure and shows a lot of loyalty to his 'dogs by not being led away by the prestige or paycheck of "better" jobs. Hill is a fierce competitor and can really coach. His near-miss against USC in 2005 was a thing of beauty. Hill's ultimate downfall has been his inability to win a WAC title. Even when the coast looks clear (2005) his teams have been snakebit and in 2006...they simply imploded after early season fistfights with BCS opponents. I think they'll be in the hunt this year and will be the media darlings, but ultimately I think #1 will still have his number.

#1. Chris Petersen, Boise State—Petersen's career is still young...but he has the wins and hardware to back up his #1 ranking. In his first year at Boise State, Petersen ONLY went 13-0, won the Bear Bryant coach of the year award and was widely praised for his bold coaching in the epic Fiesta Bowl. The honeymoon was over in 2007 when coach had to settle for second in the WAC...but his team still put beatdowns on some of the WAC's best (and worst) and finished just outside the top-25. Pete is 23-3 as the honcho at Boise State and prior to that won several awards as the top Offensive Coordinator in the country. Coach Pete is a player's coach, is innovative, and really has the respect of his team, assistants, community and administration. He's tearing up the recruiting trail this offseason and should be poised to make a run at another WAC title this year with a very young team. What more can you say? Coach Pete is the man in the WAC until someone else forcibly takes that title from him.

7.21.2008

Ryan Dinwiddie is the starting quarterback, for now, of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Incumbent QB Kevin Glenn has been the starter for the Bombers since 2004, but has the team off to an 0-4 start this season while throwing only 2 TDs against 8 INTs. Dinwiddie will get his first start this Thursday against Calgary and will direct the offense (or 'offence' as those wacky Canucks spell it) indefinitely. Ironically, Dinwiddie has thrown 2 touchdowns against 8 INTs in his backup tenure with the Bombers. Dinwiddie's only previous start was in last year's Grey Cup (CFL Super Bowl)...a game that the Bomber's ultimately lost 23-19.

"I woke up today, and I was excited," Dinwiddie told the Winnipeg Sun. "Any time you're the starting quarterback, you're a lot more enthused to go out there, so I'm excited for the opportunity to go out there and play well."

7.18.2008

There have been many great nicknames in the annals of sports history; "Magic"..."Primetime"..."Chocolate Thunder"..."Bill Wennington"—great players seem to require great nicknames. Sadly, this has been an area in which Boise State has been sorely lacking of late. Boise State's recent nicknames consist mainly of shortening the players name or using their initials. ENOUGH!

Fight, Fight, BSU would like to arbitrarily hand out some nicknames that we hope stick with our young squad. Some will require no explanation...some will. Bear with me.

In no particular order:

Austin "Stickum®" Pettis—Dude's got amazing hands

Vinny "Vincenzo" Perretta—Vinny's an all-purpose player...and "Vinny" is plenty tough...but if he eventually wants to take over the family business; Vincenzo it shall be.

Titus "the" Young—Titus torched defenses as a true frosh last year, but still doesn't look a day over 15. I looked back to Alexander the Great and Hagar the Horrible for this one. Titus the Young shall conquer Gaul.

Bush "2 in the hand" Hamdan—I've never understood that saying...but depending on what we're talking about could be pretty darn cool. Example: 2 beating hearts?

7.16.2008

Carlo Audagnotti is a focused kid. Growing up in South Africa, he dreamed of playing American football—and after moving to the U.S. about eight years ago that dream came true. Now, Audagnotti has a different dream—to play in the NFL—but he knows that to make that happen, he must first play at the university level. From the looks of things, Audagnotti is well on his way to making that a reality as well. Carlo was the Offensive MVP of the All-Trinity League last year while rushing for over 1,400 yards and 11 scores at Santa Margarita (CA), but didn't receive a glut of college offers. Oregon State showed some interest, but Corvallis wasn't in the cards for Audagnotti.

Now Carlo, who only rests one day a week from football training and set up his own recruiting website, appears to be headed for Boise State this fall as a preferred walk-on. What drives Audagnotti?

"The money I make in the NFL is going to go toward those children."

The children he speaks of are South African orphans—many of them infected with HIV. Audagnotti's family helped these orphans during their time in South Africa and founded a charity called Acres of Love before their departure. Carlo still devotes much of his free time (if he has any) to helping others and gave up most of his first ever paycheck to the charity.

Audagnotti may be undersized at 5'9" and 185 lbs., but something tells me that you don't want to stand between this kid and his goals.

Audagnotti is looking to redshirt this year will likely play runningback or wide receiver. We're confident that wherever or whenever Carlo plays, he will join the ranks of Boise State walk-ons that have found great success on the blue.

7.14.2008

Coach Chris Petersen will be going from the blue to the wild blue yonder, the Statesman reports today. Petersen will ride along with the Blue Angels on Wednesday as they perform a show in Twin Falls. Why Petersen?

The Navy requested Petersen because he’s in good physical condition and has a high public profile, said Brad Larrondo, Boise State senior associate athletic director for promotions and marketing.

You'd better be careful, Blue Angels...we kinda like Coach Pete around here. We don't need you up there scrambling MIGs or doing low altitude flybys of Tom Skerritt. We do need you to land him on an aircraft carrier under a giant banner that says "WAC Championship Accomplished". Oh, and how about two parachutes, just in case?

"They said they’re going to try to give him a ride to remember," Larrondo said.

Are we talking "riding in a jet" memorable or "wetting one's pants" memorable? All of Bronco Nation says "Godspeed", Coach Pete.

7.13.2008

The Bronco football team played the inaugural charity soft ball game yesterday at Hawk's Stadium and besides boring my 1-year old rather quickly offered up a treasure trove of pre-fall camp information. If you were looking for it, anyway.

First off, the player sizes on the broncosports roster appear to be a tad off (thankfully). Watching many of the Bronco players trot out onto the field in their UnderArmor jerseys, one could not help but notice that many have rocked up considerably in the off-season. Jeremy Avery, Jason Robinson, Will Lawrence, Kyle Efaw and Richie Brockel stood out to me, among others, who looked to have added at least a few pounds to their frames since December. We keep forgetting that Will Lawrence switched over to the O-line in Spring camp...he's looking big and athletic and I think should factor in to the O-line discussion this year.

Secondly, the player's personalities really shined through in their personalized introduction music. Among those of note were a fitting "Welcome Back" for Jeremy Childs who, indeed looks to be back, "Love Machine" for Toshi Franklin, "El Paso" for Sean Bingham, and "Showoff" for Jeron Johnson. Richie Brockel came to bat to the only death metal song of the night—if he brings that intensity to TE/FB this year...WAC defenses are in trouble.

Thirdly, Ian Johnson can't even escape a softball game unscathed. Ian, playing pitcher in the fourth inning, took a hard line drive off the leg and limped out. Gads, Ian...just sit in your Laz-E-boy the rest of the summer, OK?

Fourth...the incoming frosh look ready to go. Stood behind Raphiel Lambert at the concession stand and he looks as solid as any incoming frosh I've seen. I'm guessing 5'10" and about 200 lbs. Also saw Chris Potter, Tyler Jackson and Bronson Durrant and all looked "healthy".

Other observations

David Shields, whose career looks to be over due to shoulder problems was mended enough to jack a deep home-run early in the game.

Ryan Clady, a coach for the Defense, came out of his shell a bit—providing Augusto with some funny commentary and charging the field and trying to swipe first base after a controversial call. $11 million bucks the cure for shyness?

Titus Young showed up a bit late but he was sporting a bit of bling and wearing a Barry Sanders jersey.

Jon Gott has traded in his Grizzly Adams beard for some longer locks. Gott and Andrew Woodruff look like two of our biggest O-lineman. Cory Yriarte, who red-shirted last year looked pretty big as well.

Let me just reiterate—Ryan Winterswyk is going to tear the WAC a new one this season and be a high NFL draft pick when his Bronco career is up.

The event was well-received and a success, but not extremely well attended. As this looks to be an annual event, it would benefit from more media exposure and competing with a Boise Burn game probably didn't help.

7.10.2008

Doling out self-pats on the back isn't something I do regularly...but checking my blog stats, I realized that Fight, Fight BSU has gone over the 20,000 visitors mark as of last night. Thanks to all of the blog's loyal readers and to the Broncos for being awesome enough to write about on a semi-regular basis. Hopefully this upcoming season will be full of lots of exciting stuff to talk about and WAC foes to make fun of. But, please...these early '09 commitments have to slow down...I'm getting carpal-tunnel syndrome.

I'm just simply running out of recruiting-related headline puns. Boise State appears to have secured verbal commit #9 as of today with the nod from athlete Gabe Linehan from Banks, Oregon. Linehan is listed by scout.com as a linebacker and quarterback. Chances are good that Linehan will come to Boise State as a linebacker or tight end, but judging from his bloodlines, could get much bigger and fill another role. Linehan is 6'4" and weighs 205 lbs., but has one brother, Josh, who is 6'4" and 308 lbs. that played OT for the Oregon State Beavers and another brother, Cole, who is 6'4" and 300 lbs. that plays DT for the Oregon Ducks. Well, Gabe is 6'4"—could he pack on a hundy and be another D1 lineman like his bros? Who knows? Linehan appears to have the proper genes to be a big, athletic kid.

Linehan has good judgement in choosing schools, maybe not so much on evaluating coaching staffs:

"They offered me about a week later and I accepted it. I'm committed. It's 100 percent. Oregon State is a dream school, but at tight end, there's no better place than Boise State with their spread offense. Sometimes they run two tight ends. And I didn't think you could get better than the Oregon State coaching staff, but the Boise State staff is right up there too. It's going to be a great fit for me.

You just did better, Gabe...you just did.

Boise State recruits for 2009 are all trying to cram through the door at the same time, creating a comical Three Stooges effect. Keep'em coming!

7.09.2008

Via OBNUG, KTVB, and Idaho Radio News—we have learned that Peak Broadcasting has hired former Bronco center and star of Out of the Blue Jadon Dailey as their broadcast color commentator. Dailey will provide insight and humor while Bob Behler gives the play-by-play. If anyone hasn't watched Out of the Blue...you will be pleasantly surprised by Dailey's on-air persona. He is well-spoken, engaging and pretty darn funny. At the Out of the Blue premier...we were told that even the ESPN honchos were enamored with Dailey...who will be doing his first on-air gig with Boise State. Dailey has been working at a radio station in Phoenix doing sales since graduating from Boise State. We're told that Dailey will also be doing some sales work at KIDO.

Those who are worried about this being Dailey's first on-air work...take heart—the color man is there to provide insight and observations that the average listener may not accustomed to. In short—do you think that he'll be any worse than Jeff Caves? Dailey's rise to starting center after basically quitting football and working as a bank teller in Arizona have been well chronicled...we find his story quite unique and are looking forward to hearing him dish some great one-liners while Behler calls the action.

7.08.2008

It wasn't until Legedu Naanee's junior year at Boise State that he was considered a wide receiver...he's accomplished that same feat slightly sooner with the San Diego Chargers. Pro Football Weekly reports that Naanee will have an expanded role in the Charger offense this season and is now, officially, a wide receiver after a year of limited play as a special teamer and H-back hybrid. Naanee will also be trading in his #40 jersey for #11.

Naanee recently told Chargers.com that the team might install some special offensive packages for him. He said they want to get him more snaps at receiver, and they plan to use him in creative ways. Naanee reportedly has looked impressive in offseason workouts, and head coach Norv Turner is pleased with the 24-year-old’s progress.

The new Legedu-centric plays? The Legedu In route, the Legedu Out route, and the Legedu Shake-it-all-about route.

7.07.2008

Keeping with the recent trend of early verbals for the Broncos, O'Dea High School (Seattle, WA) linebacker Allen Mooney has decided to spend his college career at Boise State. The middle linebacker is rated as a 3-star player and the 22nd best at his position in the country. Mooney racked up 106 tackles and 3 forced fumbles last year as a junior despite missing 3 games. Mooney also was named All-League in '06 and '07. Here's what ESPN has to say about Mooney (whom they rank as a 74, if that means anything to you):

If Mooney had another two inches of height, he would be a highly sought-after inside linebacker on the recruiting trail. What he lacks in height he makes up for with great bulk and a compact durable frame more than capable of dealing with the punishment required of a D-I ILB. Has a natural nose for the football but does a good job reading his keys and diagnosing the play quickly. A reactive athlete with good initial quicks and jump to the football for his size. Excels at stuffing his middle run gaps and attacking downhill. Fills hard and fast vertically with good leverage. Difficult to turn out of the hole when he steps down fast with good momentum. Can hold his base at the point of attack; naturally strong with good explosiveness from his hips. Strong tackler who runs through ball carriers and looks for the punishing hit. Does not possess great sideline-to-sideline range but closes fast off-tackle and has good chase speed. Shows some burst tracking plays down inside-out and flashes good pop/explosion on contact. While he scrapes well off-tackle at times he gets knocked off his pursuit due to lack of hand technique. Lacks long arms and compact frame limit his extension when trying to keep blockers off his body. Occasionally gets chopped down when pursuing. Could struggle at the next level disengaging the cutoff block and lacks the lateral fluidity to slip it consistently. We would like to see him work on playing with consistent bend and leverage. Tends to wrap up high and lack of sink in his hips hinders lateral mobility, transitional and change-of-direction quickness. Overall, Mooney can stuff the inside run, blanket his middle zone in pass and provide above average range off-tackle. Tough competitor between the white lines and is definitely a kid being overlooked due to his lack of great height.

The productivity of the powerfully built (5'11", 220 lbs.) Mooney is impressive and he joins #14 ranked weakside linebacker John Michael Davis in the 2009 class. With Boise State loaded with young 'backers and with two huge verbals thus far—the future looks incredibly bright for the Boise State defense. Mooney had another offer from Army and was drawing interest from Washington and Oregon amongst others. Again, Mooney looks to be the prototypical Boise State pickup...slightly too undersized for the big programs to bite on, but talented enough to make their recruiting practices to look short-sighted. Mooney is a straight up baller and I admit, was one of the recruits I was hoping we would land. Check out Mooney's highlight tape below and tell me that seeing this kid, John Michael Davis and Byron Hout prowling midfield on the blue isn't a positively terrifying vision for WAC offenses.

Oh yeah, Boise State has 8 verbals...and it's early July....and they're good. The day of reckoning is at hand.

Among the extremely valuable tidbits that the Statesman was able to uncover in their exclusive interview with the new Voice of the Broncos, Bob Behler, was that he drives a Pontiac G6. Hard hitting journalism at it's best, right? But maybe can't we cull deeper insight into Bob Behler the man by his choice of car? After all, a lot can be learned about a man by looking at his ride. For example...I drive a 2003 Dodge Neon—this says about me: "I don't give a crap about my car, as long as it runs". It also may be reasonably deduced about someone that drives a gas-guzzling Hummer that they are a jackass don't particularly care for Al Gore or his ilk. So, what does Bob Behler's Pontiac say about him? Well, G6s are definitely sporty...so we know that he must be serious about sports and that bodes well for Boise State fans. The G6 is also the 11th best selling car in the United States and has won several industry awards...so clearly Bob does his homework. Depending on whether Behler drives the sedan, coupe or hard-top convertible variety of the G6 could speak volumes as well. If he drives the sedan, he may be just as likely to take his car to the grocery store as he would be to take it on the Autobahn. If he drives the coupe...he is probably not hauling any little Behlers around. If he drives the hard-top convertible...all bets are off—Behler may just be a bad boy beneath that bespectacled visage. The G6 has a 240 HP V6 engine...Behler's got boundless energy and enthusiasm. The G6 was also the car that was famously given away to Oprah Winfrey show guests in 2004—so I'm sure that Behler is the sensitive sort.

So really, if you dig a bit deeper...the Statesman's puff piece might have revealed a lot more about the Peak's new franchise talent than they intended. Or was it that the Statesman had a method to their madness when they asked Behler the seemingly lame innocent question? Nah.

7.02.2008

The Pittsburgh Steelers never really gave Jared Zabransky a chance. He never had the opportunity to show his skills or even duel with recent draftee Dennis Dixon. "Z" was cut by the Steelers on Wednesday to add receiver Marvin Allen to their practice squad. The worst part? Marvin Allen is British. I don't know why that is the worst part, but come on...he's a freakin' Brit! I thought that the Steelers admired Zabransky's spunk...does spunk mean nothing anymore?!

Once again, we wish Zabransky well, but he seems to be suffering the same fate as previous Bronco QBs...he just isn't really getting an opportunity. Maybe Z should head to the great white north and teach the Canucks a thing or two. We'll be following Zabransky's moves from here on out.

7.01.2008

It's a long offseason...so for the next few months we're going to be throwing out some exclusive interviews with ex-players, analysts and fans. Our third such interview is with Buster Bronco (shown above with Nick Schlekeway), a revered and reviled member of the Boise State family. Buster's exact age and gender are subject of speculation...but one thing is for sure...he exists!

DREW: Buster, how are you recovering from your off-season bout with laminitis? (Winnies loudly and then snorts)DREW: I see...so you'll be ready to take the field on August 30th?Neigh.DREW: Was that a yes? How about this: will your off-season injury keep you off the field come August, yay or neigh?Neigh.

DREW: Excellent...according to your wikipedia page, you are also known as Flappymouth...where did that name come from?(Tosses head violently to and fro)

DREW: So I think you are indicating that you don't know...do you know?Neigh.DREW: Fair enough. Some have criticized your on-field antics—what do you have to say to your critics?(bows head and snorts softly, but as he raises his head again I see tears welling up in his comically oversized eyes)

DREW: So, it's not easy for you to talk about?Neigh.

DREW: How old are you exactly?(stomps hoof 10 times)

DREW: So, you are ten years old? Is that in human years?Neigh.DREW: Your arms have gotten dramatically bigger in the last 10 years...is there anything added to your hay?Neigh. (Buster flexes his fuzzy horse arms)

DREW: Did you know that the Western Michigan mascot is also named 'Buster'?Neigh. (Buster looks visibly shaken by this news for some reason)

DREW: Does this upset you?(tosses head violently in up and down motion)

DREW: Buster, you are rumored to be in a relationship with the Channel 7 logo mascot...is this true?Neigh. NEIGH. (Buster overturns chair and kicks his hooves at me, barely missing my chin)

Perhaps due to the groundswell of high-quality recruits for the Broncos...yet another baller has given his verbal commitment to Boise State today. TE Trevor Peterson from Placerville, CA is headed for the Blue in a non-binding sort of way. Peterson is 6'4" and weighs 220 lbs. and held offers from Utah, SDSU, UC Davis (Coach Pete's Alma Mater) and Harvard. We're guessing besides Peterson's physical gifts, he is a smart player as well considering that the Ivy League was courting him. We're also guessing that he doesn't like wearing an ascot, since he chose the Broncos over Harvard.

It appears that star ratings have not been finished for Peterson, so we can't really gauge him by those means...but he moves well for a big man, clocking a 4.7 40 time. It appears that Peterson may have been heading for a few Pac-10 offers as well, and that is as good an indicator as any of his potential. Peterson is ranked as one the 5th best tight end in all of California by Scout.com analyst Brandon Huffman.

Peterson is the 7th known verbal that Boise State has picked up this summer. Things are coming together exceptionally well (and early) for the '09 class. Who's next?